The Ranger Who Stole Christmas
by Babelvr54
Summary: Just a short little story on our favourite Grinch. I'll have it finished and completely uploaded in a couple of hours. Enjoy! Babe as always. A little early Christmas spirit. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

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It was a week before Christmas Eve and everyone was already feeling the holiday spirit. Everyone, except Ranger. For the past five years birthdays and holidays and family, get-togethers had been crossed off his calendar. He didn't have much family left to celebrate with, and the ones that were alive weren't worth the effort. He spent most holidays either working or on a mission.

Ranger was feeling a bit frustrated because his employees kept on bringing little bits and pieces to decorate their desks with. The men added a bit of colour to their uniforms by wearing a red and green wristband and stupid Christmas themed socks. It annoyed Ranger immensely to see his employees' blatant disregard of company policy. He had reached the limit of his patience when he saw sugary Christmas cookies and candy canes in the staff break room.

Fuming, he stomped into his office and slammed the door shut. Taking a deep breath, he wrote a companywide memo.

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To ALL Rangeman Staff:

As the holiday season gets closer, I have noticed a lapse in employee behaviour regarding company policy. This includes uniform, food, cluttered desks etc. I hereby warn every employee that anyone seen with any form of decoration, contraband food and uniform misconduct will be strongly reprimanded as I see fit. You all have until the end of today to get rid of any unfavourable items from Rangeman premises.

Regards,

Ricardo Carlos Manoso

CEO Rangeman Ltd.

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Having written and posted the memo, Ranger decided to spend the next couple of hours at the Gym getting rid of his frustrations at insubordinate employees.

Lester POV

I was having an amazing day, my girlfriend bought me these cute blue knitted gloves. They were so soft and warm that I couldn't bring myself to take them off when I arrived at work. Around noon I took a break and called my girl to see how her day was going.

Twenty minutes later, there is a happy smile on my face and my heart feels as though it's going to burst.

Idly flicking through my mail, I see a companywide memo. Those things never end well for anyone involved. I read through the memo and feel a bit frustrated at my friend and employer. Carlos didn't have the best childhood, and as an adult, he tends to stay away from celebrations of any form. The man needs to learn to relax.

A grin lights my face as I think about ways I make that happen.

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A/N: I'll have this story finished in a couple of hours. Just typing up what's in my head :) Happy early Christmas!


	2. Chapter 2

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Stephanie Plum had for the first time in her life finished wrapping all her presents before Christmas Eve. She was super proud of her achievement. Bounty hunting had slowed down with the Christmas season almost upon them, but she had been saving all year so that she wouldn't be broke for the holidays and have enough money for a vacation. After New Year's, she had bought tickets for Gold Coast, Australia. She'd always wanted to learn to surf.

Happy with her hard work, she decided to take an afternoon nap. Just as she was about to doze off into candy land, her phone started ringing with the Minions ringtone. A little disoriented, she fumbled around a bit before she was able to answer her phone.

"Lo?" her voice still hoarse for sleep.

"Beautiful! Are you sleeping in the middle of the day? Or did I _just_ wake you up?" his boisterous voice wondered.

"Lester did you just call to insult me or is there a point to this call?" she asked.

"There is a point, and it's the pointiest point ever. You will not believe what Ranger just did. It's evil, it's horrible, it's horrendous, it's inconceivable, it's atrocious – "

She cut him off before he could be any more descriptive, "The POINT Lester!"

With a sigh, he continued "He's cancelled Christmas. We're not allowed any form of decoration, no colour on premises whatsoever. Beautiful, it's a tragedy. All the men here are destroyed. They're _just_ holding their manly tears in. You _have_ to help."

"Trust Ranger to look at the Grinch as a role model. Don't worry I got this." Stephanie grumbled.

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	3. Chapter 3

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Ever since they started dating, she found that Ranger had these eccentricities that no other person had. For instance, all his black sock pairs had to be in their exact pairs. She didn't know you can mismatch black socks. He also had a thing for his bed, it was borderline OCD, there could never _ever_ be any wrinkles on the bed. It had to be perfectly made. Trash his apartment – fine, wrinkle his bed – dead. One more thing she's learnt about him was that he was exceptionally and irrevocably emotionally unstable anytime holidays were involved. He always found a way to be out of town whenever there was any sort of celebration.

Having found out a little bit about his family, she understood his need to shelter himself from such occasions. Suffice it to say that losing your parents during the peak holiday season is not the best childhood memory. From what she'd learned, it only became worse from there. His childhood was the furthest a child can get from a childhood.

Stephanie decided that a quick nap was in order before she commenced any of her plans for her favourite man in black. A couple of minutes later, she was back in candy land.

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Having spent the past two hours in the gym had not helped his mood one bit. Ranger was exhausted, angry and sad. Every year, all the men wanted time off for the holidays so that they could spend time with their family. They bought presents, dressed in colourful clothes and did a fucking peacock dance for their women, preening at any compliments sent their way. Payroll was always exhausting this time of the year, but he'd convinced Tank to take over for him.

With a sigh, Ranger decided to shower and then go visit his Babe, hopefully, she'd make him feel better with her witty optimism and humour.

Feeling clean and somewhat hopeful, Ranger drove over to his Babe's place after checking her tracker.

He used the duplicate key he had to open the door and gently shut the door behind himself. He walked to the living room to find a cheery little Christmas tree lighting up the place. There were wrapped presents littered around the tree, each with a name tag. He noticed a few with his own name written in cursive script. He felt his heart race and frowned at the reaction. No one had ever bought him anything without an agenda before. He loved Stephanie because he knew she didn't have a mean bone in her entire body, which is quite an achievement in his field of work.

Opening the door to her bedroom, he felt a burst of hot air from the heating system. She was taking a 'nap' in the middle of the day. His heart seemed to grow another size as he saw a soft smile lighting up her face. Taking off his boots, he lay down next to her and pulled her closer.

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A/N: His hear grew a size!


	4. Chapter 4

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Feeling exceptionally warm and comfortable, Stephanie didn't really want to wake from her nap. Opening her eyes, she found that she'd gained a bed-mate in the duration of her nap. His amused eyes were focused on her face and his tricky hands were trailing down her back and up her arm. She reached up to give him a peck on his nose before rolling away from him, running to the bathroom and locking the door.

She heard a grumble from the other side of the door and gave a laugh before turning on the shower. She knew that he could easily get through the door but loved him even more for the fact that he didn't. He might be the Grinch when it comes to the festive season, but he's honourable.

Getting out of the shower, she found that he'd left the bedroom. She found her red and green striped dress and put it on before walking out to the living room.

There he sat, on the floor looking at the Christmas tree. The twinkling lights seemed to have hypnotised him as he stared intently at them. There was a crease on his forehead and a shine in his eyes that she'd too many times to not recognise.

She sat next to him on the floor, not wanting to shatter the silence that had draped itself over them.

It's a tricky thing, love, you always imagine what it would be like to feel it, but when you do fall in love, it's as though you've never been without it. Somehow, she knew that this was not a moment to be broken. It was too fragile to be handled.

After a few minutes, Ranger reached forward and picked up a box with his name on it. She didn't stop him from opening it. She was surprised to see him shred the wrapping paper to open his present. Inside he found black cashmere pyjama top and bottoms and a robe, each with the Batman emblem. There was a smile on his face as he looked at his present.

The next present he opened was a book of poems by Robert Frost, marked to the page with 'The Road Not Taken'. Both their lives fit that poem. He looked over the poem before resting the book on top of his pyjama set.

Next, he picked up a small flat box and opened the lid to find silver and blue striped cufflinks. He admired them for a moment, before reaching for the smallest box.

She stopped him then. "I don't think you're ready for that one yet Ranger."

He was still for a moment, contemplating the box, the possibilities running through his head. He turned to look at her, his perceptive eyes scanning her face. His decision made, he moved forward and picked up the box.

Stephanie held her breath as he opened the box.

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A/N: Almost finished. He's being especially stubborn today. I'm trying to give him a happy ending, but he's being an ass about it. Wish me luck people.


	5. Chapter 5

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He didn't open the box. He picked up all his presents, his keys and ran for the door. She sat, shocked for a moment, and then scrambled for her phone.

Calling speed dial 3, she waited.

"Speak." Tank's sharp voice came through.

"He ran out of here. I need you to track him. He's upset and I'm afraid he's going to do something stupid."

It took Tank a second before he responded, "I'm on it" and he hung up.

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Tank was having a miserable day. He had a headache, there was a Christmas carol stuck in his head, and Ranger was playacting the Grinch by making everyone miserable during the holidays. To top off that layered cake, his best friend was moments away from a breakdown.

Tank took a deep breath, before walking out and grabbing Bobby on his way down to the car.

"Track Ranger", was all Tank needed to say to get his friend moving.

Forty minutes later they were at the Newark Cemetery. They walked to the back were a man in black was standing. They stood back, giving him his space. Bobby could see his hands holding a small blue box. Not a minute later, they say Ranger fall to his knees, they didn't need to see his face to know what he was doing. Both men turned around to give their friend privacy, both feeling the heaviness of the moment.

Tank wondered if he was doing the right thing as he sent the text message. Looking back, he saw that his friend was not going to be moving anytime soon. This is the first time in twenty years that he'd visited his parents grave. All Tank knew was that no child should have to see their parents die in front of them. It's a wonder that Ranger turned out the man he is today.

By the time Stephanie arrived, Ranger seemed catatonic. He hadn't moved from his position for the past hour. Stephanie moved to touch him and suddenly found herself cradled in his arms. The two Rangemen moved away and decided to wait in the car.

Twenty minutes later, the men saw the couple walk out of the cemetery, both men noticed that both their ring fingers were adorned with a ring which sparkled in the sunlight.

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 _To ALL Rangeman Staff:_

 _A companywide Christmas party is to be held in Auditorium 1 on the 22_ _nd_ _of December. Everyone is welcome to attend with a plus one. RSVP by 19_ _th_ _December to Mrs. Stephanie Manoso._

 _Regards,_

 _Ricardo Carlos Manoso_

 _CEO Rangeman Ltd._

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End file.
